1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system, and in particular to a method, system, and product for determining the efficiency of detecting defects in code.
2. Description of Related Art
Occasionally during the development of software, also called code, defects are inadvertently created in the code. A programmer is typically unaware that this has happened. Thus, the programmer is also unaware of exactly when the defect entered the code.
The sooner a defect is found, the easier and thus less expensive it is to fix. This is because additional code is typically created over time. This additional code may inadvertently inherit the defect or may depend on the code that included the defect thus exacerbating the effect of the defect on the performance of the code. Over time, the defect will affect more and more files of code. As another reason, as time passes it becomes more difficult to fix the defect because the programmer has more difficulty remembering what changes were made that might have caused the defect.
Therefore, the effectiveness of a test and development team of programmers may be judged by determining how effective the team is at locating and fixing defects. In order to determine how effective the team is at locating defects, it is necessary to know both when the defect was discovered as well as when the defect entered the code. However, it is very difficult to determine exactly when a defect entered the code. The actual time the defect entered the code cannot be known with absolute certainty because a programmer does not know when a defect enters the code.
Therefore, a need exists for a method, system, and product for determining the efficiency of detecting defects in code.